Musical i



H. HAAS MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Mach 29, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 1 oc 000mgA xsi .4 UUR/V578 H. HAAs MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Dec. 15 1925. l1.565.439A

Filed March 29. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :NVE/won j? WM@- A TTU/MHSPatented Een. l5, 1925.

FATE? HERMAN HAAS, F MARENGO, ILINOES MUSICAL NSTRUMENT.

Application tiled March 29, 1923.

To all 10710727, it may' concern.'

Be it known that l, Hem-.IAN HAAs, a citizen of the United States, and aresident ot' Marengo, in the county ot McHenry and State ot' lllinois,have invented a new and useful improvement in Musical Instruments, ofwhich the 'following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, and itconsists in the combinations, constructions, and arrange" ments hereindescribed and claimed.

An object orp my invention is to provide a musical instrument. which isadapted to be used as a .toy, and which has novel means for readilychanging the mechanism which actuates the key hammers, whereby thedcvice 'adapted to play any song desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed in which single notes may be sounded independently ot eachother, or a plurality of notes may be sounded in unison.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which has a disc having a plurality of prearranged openingstherein, and a plurality 'of 'pins which are adapted to be disposed in'any of the openings desired, whereby the pins on the disc may beadjusted so as to play any piece desired.

A further object ot my invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which has novel means for de-adeniug the sound ot the movingparts.

L further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which is simple in construction, durable and 'eliicient forthe purpose intended, and which is not likely to easily get out oforder.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features ot the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompa-nying drawings, forming partof this application, in which Figure l is a plan view of the device,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the device,

Figure 3 is a section along the line' 8 3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4 4 of Figure l.

ln carrying ont my invention, I provide a base l which has an upright 2,the upright being centrally disposed with respectto the Serial No.628,562.

base. A disc 3 is rotatably carried by the upright 2 and is secured inplace by means of a screw il. lt willibe noted from Figure 1 that thedisc 3 is perforated in a certain predetermined inanner for a purposehereinafter described.

rlhe mechanism for producing the sound is shown in Figures 3 and 4. Itwill be noted from F ignre 3 that a plate 5 is carried by uprights 6which'are in turn secured to the base 1. The plate has a plurality ofslots 7, in which the upwardly extending ends'ot' levers 8 are slidablydisposed. The levers 8 in reality are key hammers which are adapted tostrike tone producing plates 9. The levers are pivotally carried by arod l0 which is disposed between the uprights 6. Collars Yl1 aredisposed between the levers 8 and space the levers the desired distanceapart. The tone plates 9 are constructed in the same manner as theplates of a Xylophone or other like instrument. It will be noted tromFigure t that the plates 9 are supported by felt ribs 12 which in turnare disposed upon strips 13 that are secured to the base 1. A spring lehas one of its ends secured to the upper end of each lever 8 and has itsother end secured to an upwardly bent portion 15 of the plate 5. Fromthis construction it will be noted that the levers 8 `will be quicklyswung into normal position when released, thereby causing the toneplates to vibrate to produce the desired notes. A stop bar 16 extendsbetween the uprights 6 and acts as a stop for the upper portions of thelevers 8. The sound ordinarily resulting from the levers striking thebars 16 is deadened by means of a felt pad 17 which is carried by .thebars 16.

The means for actuating the levers 8 consists of small pins 18 which aredisposed in any of the openings 19 in the disc 3 which the operatordesires. The openings 1f) are disposed .ein rings which are concentricwith the axis of the disc 3. The space between each opening in oneradially extending row oi openings is the same as the space between thelevers 8. It will therefore be apparent that the pins 18 will engagewith the levers 8 when the disc 3 is rotated.

The disc 3 is rota-ted by means of a sprocket 2() which is rigidlymounted on a crank 21, the crank in turn being rotatably carried by asupport 22 which is secured to the base 1. The teeth of the sprocketall@ adapted to enter openings 23 in thcdiso lli) 3, whereby the disc isrotated when the crank Q1 is actuated. An idler roller 24 is rotatablycarried by a bolt 25 which is secured to the support 22. The. roller 24engages with the upper surface of the disc 3 and holds the disc inengagement with the sprocket 20. The sprocket 2O and the roller 24prevent vertical play of the disc 3 with respect to the sprocket 20.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The pins 18 are adapted tobe disposed in any of the openings 19 desired. The levers 8 each strikea different plate 9, whereby a different tone is produced by each lever.Then al certain song is desired to be played by the operator, hearranges the pins in the openings 19 so as to cause the pins to engagewith the levers in a predetermined manner when the disc 3 is rotated. Inthis way any song desiredinay be played by the instrument. It is obviousthat more than one lever may be actuated at the saine time. It is a verysimple matter to change from one. tune to another tune, since the disc 3and the pins 18 are fully exposed to view.

The device is especially adapted for use as an instructive toy, sincethe child has to figure out where to place the pins 18 so as t0 causethe device to play the right tune when actuated. The device is verysimple in construction and not likely to get out of order easily.

I claim:

A musical instrument comprising` a frame, a perforated disc rotatablycarried by said frame, the openings in said disc being arranged inconcentric circles, keys carried by said frame, tone plates carried bysaid frame and adapted to be set into vibration by said keys, means foryieldingly holding said keys in contact with said tone plates, deadeningmeans for stopping the movement of said keys after said keys have struckthe tone plates, and pins removably disposed in said openings, said pinshaving enlarged portions disposed intermediate between the ends thereofwhereby either end of said pins may be inserted in the openings, saidpins being adapted vto move said keys'when said disc is rotated wherebythe device is adapted to play various tunes.

HERMAN HAAS.

